Kuttin Kandi: Hiphop, Heart Disease, Fatphobia, and Truth-Telling
I’m sorry to say I never heard of Kuttin Kandi (also known as Candice Custodio-Tan) before I read this article, clearly because I’ve been hiding under a rock.
...read moreRIP MCA
Very saddened to hear the news that Beastie Boy Adam Yauch passed away from cancer today. The Beasties are one of my all-time favorite acts, and MCA seemed like a good dude. For all the misogyny of their early tunes, the Beastie Boys — and Adam Yauch — grew into feminist-minded social justice advocates. Yauch particularly focused on Tibetan freedom, organizing concerts, awareness-raising and co-founding the Milarepa Fund. Rest in peace, MCA.
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Hip Hop Is For Lovers
This is a guest post by Lauren Bruce, former Feministe blogger and music superfan.
Hip Hop is For Lovers is a multimedia web experience dedicated to looking at love, sex and intimacy through the lens of hip hop culture. Its centerpiece is a weekly woman-centered, queer-friendly and justice-heavy podcast that features discussions about a variety of relationship topics punctuated with the best in rap. After months as a listener, I had the privilege of talking with podcast co-hosts Uche and Lenée about the making of the show, the tentative relationship between hip hop culture and mainstream feminism, and what we should be listening to next. After the interview, tune in live on Wednesday nights from 8-10 EST to hear Uche and Lenée in action.
...read moreAmerican Skin
Wow Bruce. That actually made me tear up. Lyrics below the fold.
...read moreHappy Valentine’s Day!
Yes, we’re occupying it, but I can admit that I do love Valentine’s Day. Not the commercialized romance part, but a whole day dedicated to celebrating love? And watching cute couples all out together looking happy? It’s very sweet. And I’m going to spend this evening watching Bebel Gilberto and drinking champagne and whiskey, so I’m good.
...read moreChris Brown won’t let us forget: Domestic violence is okay if you’re hot
Trigger warning for domestic violence
Sasha Pasulka of HelloGiggles said it best: “I’m not okay with Chris Brown performing at the Grammys and I’m not sure why you are.” She points out that the popular response to Chris Brown’s beating of Rihanna was beyond disappointing, with fans and celebrities alike falling back on “No one knows exactly what happened” and “It takes two to tango” and “He’s such a great guy; he never would have done something like that unprovoked.” Jump forward three years, he was invited to perform at the Grammys (because the music industry appears to be okay with it). Because, says Grammys producer Ken Erlich, people deserve a second chance. And he hasn’t performed at the Grammys for two whole years now. And “we were the victim of what happened.”
But that was last night. That was Hollywood’s reaction. This morning, it’s the fans’ reaction, which appears to be: Chris Brown is so hot, it would be okay if he beat me.
It would be awesome if he beat me.
Examples hidden behind the jump, because seriously, triggering. I just can’t.
...read moreNew Favorite Things
Jaclyn Friedman’s Unsolicited Advice column in GOOD. This week she advises Blue Ivy Carter:
...read moreOne of the things that’s going to be especially weird, if the response to Shiloh Jolie-Pitt’s haircut is any indication, is that a non-trivial minority of the global population will soon consider what you do with your body and your sexuality their business. In fact, they’ve already started. Most people would welcome a new addition to their family as “the most beautiful baby in the world,” but in your case, perfect strangers are already being invited to assess that claim.
Beyonce Baby Drama
I have a long-standing soft spot in my heart for Ms. Knowles, and although I’m not much of a celebrity gossip follower, I was very happy to hear about her giving birth to baby Ivy Blue, with husband Jay-Z. Jay even wrote a song about it — and while it’s admittedly not the hottest track, it is extremely sweet and no I did not tear up I JUST HAVE SOMETHING IN MY EYE.
...read moreMaybe you’re better off outside.
Long before I understood concepts like consent or feminism, I understood creepy, and the song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” qualified. It’s meant to be a fun, flirty little song, but listen to the lyrics and it’s wrong. “No means no” is clear and classic, and when a guy is that insistent about ignoring boundaries, it’s a sign to get the hell out of there, cold outside or not.
...read moreKids These Days.
Everyone should read this very excellent piece by Edith Zimmerman. I guess this may all just be a roundabout way of saying, “I saw something that made me feel old, isn’t that crazy?” To which you say, “No,” and also maybe, “That song sounds terrible.” Then again, the Internet is a new kind of barometer [...]
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Love, by Tom Waits
“She’s Amelia Earhart and Jane Goodall and Joan Jett all rolled into one … I feel like sometimes I have a map in my pocket that folds up and I pull it out and it’s bigger than the table and there are a 1,000 places to go with her.” Full interview here.
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